How To Insulate Under Your Car Hood – DIY Underhood Sound Insulation
If you’re like us who have owned your car for quite some time, you might also feel this impression that the sound emanating from your engine is just getting louder. For starters, you should check if there is something wrong with the engine itself. However, after inspection and if your vehicle is always undergoing regular maintenance checks, then the real culprit is your car’s faulty hood insulation.
A vehicle’s hood insulation or hood liner will become worn out and damaged after man years of use. It’s just part of the regular wear and tear of your automobile. In fact, some car models don’t even come with this hood liner.
If you believe the excessive and annoying racket your car is making could be the lack of a liner or could be the deterioration of an existing liner, then you must take matters into your own hands and consider making your own. No one of us should have to endure that annoying racket, especially on the road where we can’t afford any distractions.
Materials to Get You Started
Here are the materials you need to get you started with this DIY Underhood Sound Insulation project. Thankfully, all of these are available in the ever reliable and most popular e-commerce site, Amazon. You can rest assured that you’ll get topnotch materials that do not hurt your pockets. These materials are the following:
- Use sound deadening mat for your vehicle to ward off the noise. The popular sound deadening mats are Dynamat Adhesive Sound Deadeners and the Noico Sound Deadening Mat.
- Utilize hood liners that offer the most perfect sound deflection and the best insulation for your car. The Dynamat Hood Liner and the FatMat Hood Liner work extremely well in making your car quiet. It also helps preserve the design aesthetics of the vehicle.
Of course, you will also need regular tools found in your home to facilitate this project. This includes a ruler, scissors, tape measure, rollers, box cutters, and the like.
Why is Hood Insulation Vital?
You must consider making your own liner to make your transit to and from work or anywhere more palatable. Hood insulation is generally created with a thin layer of material that has been incorporated with sound deadening qualities. This hood insulation holds two important jobs that are critical for your comfort in the vehicle.
Its first task is it dampens the noise of your engine so that those of you riding in the car and those pedestrians walking near the car will not be bothered by all the noisy racket. The last thing you want is to draw attention to yourself because your car is going out of whack.
The other job of hood insulation is to make the paint on your hood last longer. For most car enthusiasts and regular owners who value their possessions, this is a truly vital component. Who doesn’t want their expensive car to last for a long time?
By doing your own custom hood insulation work, you can address both the aesthetics and functional components of your vehicle. To help you with this endeavor, read this comprehensive guide to help you with our your do-it-yourself underhood sound deadening project. This offers you creative solutions and crafty ideas to help you get started, so do read on below:
Figure Out the Different Types
The very first step to this project is for you to know that there are many different kinds of underhood sound insulation materials. Along with that, there are various methods to install them. You can can combine these options to help you address your needs and achieve your wants.
Use a Sound Deadener
Consider using a sound deadening mat for your vehicle which you can easily find in Amazon. Apart from being great at offering sound insulation, this material is also beneficial when it comes to thermal insulation. This proves that a sound deadener is a simple, inexpensive, and practical material that you can choose for all kinds of unherhood installation that you may be looking for.
If a high quality sound deadening material is what you want, consider Dynamat Adhesive Sound Deadeners or you can opt for the top-reviewed Noico Sound Deadening Mat, which are both online.
Here’s the deal: the Noico brand is totally awesome when it comes to keeping things quiet. It costs half the price of the Dynamat and works on any kind of surface. This implies that this mat is very useful not just for your car’s hood, but for the doors, floors, and even roof, too.
The Noico is user-friendly and very easy to install with its self-adhesive back that doesn’t need any special glue. It is also covered with special embossing on the foil which will serve as your guide during installation. The embossing can actually indicate if you put it on correctly or not.
You will know that things are set up correctly if you are able to ensure that the foil is super smooth, with not wrinkles and whatnot. Because it is easy to set up and it is cheap, you can buy a lot of the Noico and apply it to whatever surface that needs sound deadening.
Remember: the more mass and the more layers, the less noise comes through and the more quiet it is.
Use a Hood Liner
There are those that prefer hood liners to sound deadeners. A high quality underhood liner has the capability of giving you a much cooler and quieter ride. These materials are specifically made for giving your car some added insulation.
These are hood liners are generally made with a self-adhesive back. They also come in a default size, which you can cut into shape to make it conform to your vehicle’s hood. One advantage of this liner over a deadener is they are thicker and they also come equipped with heat insulation properties, which are perfect because of how close they can be to a hot engine.
Keep in mind that these specs very depending on the manufacturer, so be sure to read to examine the goods well if you buy in store and read the fine print well when you go shopping in Amazon. There are many kinds of products out there and you want to sure you get the right one that can address your concerns.
Here under are two most popular hood liners in the market today:
Dynamat Hood Liners
This is a very popular brand that is known for providing good quality car insulation. They offer fairly good value for money because they do their promise to get the job done with ease. This Dynamat hood liner will easily muffle the sound that your engine makes.
- The Hoodliner's 1 mil. reinforced aluminized skin creates a water/oil barrier that reflects up to 97% of radiant heat to protect the hood's paint finish
- Easy application with high-tack pressure sensitive adhesive for peel and stick application
This very dense material guarantees sound dampening. You just have to make sure this is installed properly in your hood. Thus, it is critical to take the necessary measurements, so you can outline well before making the first cut.
Those who are doing self-installation must take note that cars have areas that are both concave and convex. To ensure that it doesn’t warp or bubble up, careful installation is required, especially in the critical areas with the dips and curves. This shiny foil looking mat will last you for a very long time if you applied it correctly onto the surface of the vehicle.
Fatmat Hood Liner
This is another popular brand for hood liners, which shares the similar superior qualities of a Dynamat. This has a silver metallic finish because it is crafted from aluminum foil and acoustic foam. Because of this combination, this Fatmat Hood Liner has heat-resistant features which can protect your the pain of your car’s hood with ease from the heat being emanated by the engine.
- One 18 inch wide x 16.75 feet long Roll of Self-Adhesive RattleTrap (25 Sq Ft Total) with Install Kit Consisting of Easy Instructions, Roller, Knife, and FatMat Sound Control Decal
- 80 mil nominal thickness with Patented "Super-Stick" Adhesive
The acoustic foam does wonders in keeping things quiet because it absorbs the sound vibrations coming from the engine. This is easy to install because it comes with a super long and super strong adhesive, so you can use this material for any other purpose. Just make sure that this is properly installed so you can enjoy its perks and benefits for a long time.
Use Both Materials at the Same Time
If you are having a hard time choosing between the two, you can actually install both and combine the best of a hood liner and a sound deadener in one. This is actually are favorite method, which we have tried and tested in our vehicles.
How do you install two different mats together in one hood? Thankfully, since most of the materials have a sticky back and are touted to be friendly for DIYers, the installation process is actually not difficult. The first thing that you have to do is cut them both in the right shape.
The next step is to remove the self-adhesive liner from the back of the sound deadener and install this on your hood. After this, use the sound deadener as the base. You MUST place the hood liner on top of this, so you can benefit from the qualities of both products.
Since both of this go inside the hood and stay near the engine, you have to pick a material that can resist heat. If you don’t, then the heat will damage the materials, thereby wasting your time, efforts, and money. Most of all, it can put you at risk.
You have to take extra precautions with sound deadeners because these aren’t usually crafted for this purpose. This is the critical reason a deadener must serve as the base, unless it is proven heat resistant. It will be the one next to the hood, while the liner will be near the engine.
Estimate How Much Material You Will Need
Now, the next thing you have to consider is the amount of material you will need. Of course, you don’t want to waste your money and order too much. We don’t want to waste the material either, especially since this is a specialty product.
The size you get will depend on the size of the panel of your vehicle’s hood. In most scenarios, you cannot go wrong in getting a 60”x60” sheet because you can easily cut this out to suit any shape and size of hood.
That being said, those who are on a tight budget opt not to insulate the entire area. Instead, they just focus on the main area around then engine itself. Of course this will affect the sound quality, if only a part of the hood is covered.
Personally, we recommend insulating all of the hood’s area because with just a little bit more money, you can enjoy a lot more perks. Might as well go all the way when it comes to making sure that the noise levels cannot penetrate outside the hood! A partial covering will pave the way for noise to come out and break free, helping the vibrations reach your ears.
That being said, whatever measurement you have taken, be sure to add a little bit of extra material on all sides. This will pave the way for accommodating the curves of the hood. This will also give you a lot of room in case you make any mistakes along the way because the extra material will be easy to trim once you are done.
Be sure to use a pair of sharp scissors and utility knife so you can cut with precision. A dull knife will not give crisp edges and may compromise the self-adhesive backing. You may also opt to use a roller to ascertain that what you installed is really flat.
Follow These Easy Steps to Installing Your Own Underhood Liner
You must follow these critical steps in installing your underhood deadener and liner. This way, you will be able to install properly and enjoy the fruits of your labor for a far longer time frame. Here are 7 crucial steps:
- Take away any existing underhood insulation that is in your vehicle. Once those are out, clean off any grime and dirt that may be stuck to the hood panel. For the adhesive to work perfectly, the panel must be free from dirt and must be dry.
- If your work area is not so clean, put some plastic painter’s tarp on the floor. This will reduce any risk of those debris sticking to you and on the surface of your garage.
- Depending on the amount of hood liners your have, then you can add as many layers as you want inside the wood panel.
- If you have a limited budget, then you need to be more economical with your supplies. You can either cut this into strips to match the dips in the hood, then the remaining strips will be used to cover the convex portion. Another way is to lay the new liner on the ground, then use the old liner to trace for a more accurate size. Cut out the shapes accordingly and apply them to your vehicle’s hood.
- Remove the protective film from the liner and proceed with application. Use your hand to take out any air bubbles and to ensure that it is glued on well.
- For better results, you can opt to use a roller to ascertain the are no creases and unsightly bulges. They key is a smooth, shiny liner.
- Use a razor blade or a box cutter to help trim the edges for a smooth look and finish.
As you can see it is easy to sound proof your car with a deadener and liner. Aside from having a quiet cabin, you also won’t be bothering pedestrians if you install these underhood. Most of all, the temperature in your engine cabin will be more constant with the insulation, helping stop your car from overheating. The added insulating layer will also preserve the hood’s aesthetics because it deters paint from peeling off. And in the off chance your engine catches fire, this insulation will deter it from spreading. These insulation materials that you apply in your vehicle can actually even save your life.